Women's Indoor League Round Five
The Notts All-Stars and Finest will contest the final of the Women’s Indoor Cricket League after securing the top two spots with a week to play.
The All-Stars, who have been the form side in the competition so far, scored an easy victory over Plumtree whilst the Finest went to a narrow victory over Notts University.
The pair will play off in a final in early December with the last round of the group stages taking place next Tuesday.
Notts Finest vs Nottingham University 77-63
The Finest have been on great form in recent weeks, inflicting a first defeat on the All-Stars, but their match against Nottingham University was anything but straightforward. They got off to a fine start, scoring 28 from the first four overs before a spirited fightback, led by Laura Smith, restricted the Finest to just 77 from their 16 overs. Smith, took six wickets in her allotted overs to stem the flow of scoring, only Tash Allen (22) able to get her away in the final few overs.
With just 78 needed to win, Notts University had their eyes on just their second win of the competition. However, a poor start derailed their chances with the Finest producing some fine bowling and fielding displays to restrict the University to 63 at the end of their overs. Ellie Bradbury matched the earlier efforts of Smith, taking six wickets as Allen backed up her 22 with the bat with three wickets of her own.
Plumtree vs Notts All-Stars 102-152
Notts All-Stars best performing duo, Jenny Gray and Georgie Boyce, proved to be the difference in the second match of the night. Gray (29) and Boyce (27) added 56 in the first four overs as they set their side on course for a challenging total for a Plumtree side with only one win in the competition so far. With the support of the other three pairs, scoring 25, 35 and 36 respectively, the All-Stars posted a daunting total of 152.
Despite Plumtree’s best efforts, which included narrowly winning the second and third skins, they fell well short of the overall target, ending on 103 at the end of their 16 overs.
The results gave the All-Stars and Finest an unassailable lead in the top two spots meaning they will face each other for the third time in the final, with both teams securing one victory each in the previous two matches.